Command Files

When a command file is used, its settings override any that have been
set through environment or command line variables, or in a configuration
file. Exceptions to this general rule are the "additive" strings, such as the
header and trailer copyright entries, which append to the existing text unless
a specific (blank) entry is included to discard the previous setting.

A command file also provides access to more operational controls than can
be selected through environment variables, with command line switches or in a
configuration file. ThmIndxrTM derives most
its potential for creative power and flexibility through the combined use of
its configuration and command file facilities.

A command file defines how ThmIndxrTM deals
with a specific set of images that are incorporated into a particular HTML
page, as opposed to configuration files, which define the overall operating
mode under which the program executes. Command files can be used to create
unique Web pages within a site by adjusting the background and table
parameters, for example, while staying within the general constraints defined
by the configuration file established for the site.

The sample command files provided
here, used to generate the
first sample page, and
here, used to generate the
second sample page,
are abbreviated, uncommented ones targeted at a specific task. In contrast,
the one shown below contains all of the entries that are recognized by the
current version of ThmIndxrTM, and is fully
commented. Both command files are valid constructs; the one actually used for
a given image data set will probably fall somewhere between these two
extremes.

; File name ThmIndxr.cmd
; Purpose ThmIndxr.exe command file
; Written by Fred Koschara
; Created December first, 1997
; Last modified 01/15/1998 @ 4:11 pm by wfk
; TAB spacing 8 characters
;++
; all command file lines must be less than 256 characters long.
; all comment lines (beginning with ';') are ignored by the program.
; all blank lines are ignored by the program.
; all sections are optional unless otherwise specified.
; sections may occur in the file in any order.
; unknown sections are ignored.
; entries within a section may occur in any order unless otherwise specified.
; entries in each section are optional unless otherwise specified.
; any entries not specified will default to values defined in the program code.
; unknown entries in each section are ignored.
; entry names must be spelled correctly and are case sensitive.
; if multiple lines contain entries for a value's setting, only the first one
; is recognized, unless the entry is identified as "additive" where later
; occurrences add to the (string) value previously specified.
; no space is allowed before the '=' character.
; Boolean (TRUE/FALSE) values are FALSE if the specified value is 0. Any other
; value is TRUE, although 1 is used by convention.
; valid decimal numeric strings are required after the '=' for numeric entries.
; inline comments are ignored for numeric entry lines.
; string values are everything to the right of the '=' sign, except whitespace
; right of the '=' is removed up to the first nonspace character.
; the default values are shown in this distribution file for each entry, i.e.,
; ThmIndxr will operate the same whether the entries, as shown, are
; included in the conmmand file or not.
;--
[command]
;++
; entries in the [command] section define the data items that are output to the
; HTML page ThmIndxr creates. settings in this section override values
; specified in a Configuration File, if used, except entries identified
; as "additive" where these entries add to any existing "root" value.
;--
; REQUIRED ENTRY: Title String
; a non-empty Title String entry must be defined in either the command line or
; a command file when ThmIndxr is run, or a fatal error aborts the program.
Title String=
; this entry defines the string displayed in the browser's title bar when the
; HTML output page is viewed; it also is used as a title heading at the
; top of the HTML page, and in the &LT;ADDRESS&GT; line in the page footer.
; the visible page title string is written using &LT;CENTER&GT; and &LT;H1&GT; formatting.
Have Thumbnails=0 ; TRUE == thumbnails exist, don't reread images
; set Have Thumbnails to TRUE when regenerating an HTML output page, if the
; image set has not been changed, to reduce the execution time.
Dir Thumbnail=
; specifies where thumbnail images are written.
; if a Dir Thumbnail entry is not found, thumbnails are written to a "thumbs"
; subdirectory of the output directory, which is created if necessary.
; to override (reset) the preset Dir Thumbnail setting, use an entry with no
; string value, e.g.,
; Dir Thumbnail=
; if Dir Thumbnail is reset, thumbnails are written to the output directory
; with names of the form "TXRnnnnn.JPG" or "TXRnnnnn.GIF" where "nnnnn"
; is a 5 digit number reflecting its sequence position during processing
; of the input image.
; WARNING: if the thumbnail images are written to the source directory and
; ThmIndxr is re-run, the thumbnail images will be indexed as well.Dir Lowsrc=
; specifies where LOWSRC (low resolution) images are written.
; to override (reset) the preset Dir Lowsrc setting, use an entry with no
; string value, e.g.,
; Dir Lowsrc=
; if a Dir Lowsrc entry is not found, the LOWSRC images are written to a
; "lowsrc" subdirectory of theoutput directory, which is created if
; necessary.
; if Dir Lowsrc is reset, the LOWSRC images are written to the output directory
; with names of the form "TXLnnnnn.GIF" where "nnnnn" is a 5 digit number
; reflecting its sequence position during processing.
; WARNING: if the LOWSRC images are written to the source directory and
; ThmIndxr is re-run, the LOWSRC images will be indexed as well.Copyright Owner=
; if a Copyright Owner entry is present, an HTML comment is written at the top
; of the page reserving copyright protection for the HTML page and its
; contents. This string is not displayed by the browser unless a "View
; Source" window is opened.
Remote Name=
; if a Remote Name entry is present, an HTML comment is written at the top of
; the HTML page identifying the intended filename for the generated page
; on the Web server.
Head Copyright=
; specifies a (visible) copyright notice to be added at the top of the HTML
; output page, below the banner (if present) and page title.
; any valid HTML formatting constructs can be used in the value for this entry.
; an HTML &LT;CENTER&GT; command is active when this entry is written to the output
; page. if &LT;CENTER&GT; is turned off (using a &LT;/CENTER&GT; command) for all or
; a portion of the copyright notice, it must be turned back on at the end
; of the entry's value string(s) to maintain proper page formatting.
; this is an "additive" entry - additional Head Copyright entries found in the
; command file add to the existing string, rather than replacing it.
; to override an existing Head Copyright string (i.e., a default string set in
; a Configuration File), use an entry with no string value, e.g.,
; Head Copyright=
; Head Copyright=some new copyright text
Tail Copyright=
; specifies a (visible) copyright notice to be added at the bottom of the HTML
; output page, below the return link(s) (if present) and above the page's
; &LT;ADDRESS&GT; section.
; any valid HTML formatting constructs can be used in the value for this entry.
; this is an "additive" entry - additional Tail Copyright entries found in the
; command file add to the existing string, rather than replacing it.
; to override an existing Tail Copyright string (i.e., a default string set in
; a Configuration File), use an entry with no string value, e.g.,
; Tail Copyright=
; Tail Copyright=some new copyright text
Show Path in HTML=0 ; TRUE == display input directory path in HTML
; if Show Path in HTML is TRUE, the fully-qualified path specification, minus
; the drive letter, is displayed in the HTML output page below the title
; string. this would be most useful when creating a CD-ROM containing
; multiple directories of image files.
; if Show Path in HTML is TRUE, the path and marker string are written using
; &LT;CENTER&GT; and &LT;H4&GT; formatting.
Path Marker=
; if used, Path Marker specifies the string that identifies the path spec. in
; the HTML output page. for example, command entries of:
; Show Path in HTML=1
; Path Marker=Directory:
; cause ThmIndxr to generate HTML code that displays
; Directory: \SERIES\CELEBRTY\SLVRSTON.A
; if the input directory is d:\series\celebrty\slvrston.a
; any Path Marker entry present is ignored if Show Path in HTML is not TRUE.
Background Image=
; if present, specifies the image file to be used as a background for the HTML
; page that is generated.
; the Background Image entry may contain a relative or absolute path; however,
; the file cannot be on a different drive.
Banner Name=
; if present, specifies the image file to be displayed as a banner, centered,
; at the top of the HTML page that is generated.
; the Banner Name entry may contain a relative or absolute path; however, the
; file cannot be on a different drive.
; if a Banner Name entry is not present, all of the banner-related entries are
ignored, if present.
; if a Banner Name entry is present and either Banner Width or Banner Height
are not supplied or are 0, both dimensions are obtained directly from
the image file.
Banner Width=0 ; width of the banner image, in pixels
Banner Height=0 ; height of the banner image, in pixels
Banner Lowsrc=
; specifies the name of the LOWSRC (low resolution) image loaded before the
; banner image is displayed by the end user's browser.
; if a Banner Lowsrc entry is not supplied, ThmIndxr will attempt to create a
; LOWSRC image in the same directory as the banner image, whose name is
; in the form of "xxx_LOW_.GIF" where "xxx" is the first 3 characters of
; the name of the banner image file. if a file is found with the same
; name, it is assumed to have been created by a previous execution of
; ThmIndxr and left in place. this is done to expedite development of
; image index trees for CD-ROMs where the same banner is displayed on
; all of the HTML pages.
; WARNING: if an invalid or unreachable LOWSRC name is supplied, the end user's
; browser will NOT display the normal (high resolution) image.
Banner Alt String=
; specifies the text string that is displayed if the banner image cannot be
; rendered by the end user's browser.
; if a Banner Alt String entry is not specified, the name of the banner image
; file is used for the ALT string.
Name Sort=0 ; controls sort ordering of images in output
; 0 (default) no sorting performed
; 1 sort images by name before creating output HTML page
; 2 sort images by file type (extension)
; 3 sort images by file date
; 4 sort images by file size
; 5 sort images by image width
; 6 sort images by image height
; 7 "sort" images into random order
; 8 reverse sort images by name before creating output HTML page
; 9 reverse sort images by file type (extension)
; 10 reverse sort images by file date
; 11 reverse sort images by file size
; 12 reverse sort images by image width
; 13 reverse sort images by image height
Subdirectory Position=0 ; controls positioning of subdirectory icons
; the Subdirectory Position entry is ignored unless Recursive is TRUE.
; 0 (default) no sorting performed
; 1 directories are grouped first in the HTML table
; 2 directories are included in the Name Sort sequencing
; 3 directories are grouped last in the HTML table
; -1 no subdirectory icons are to be included in the HTML table
; table parameters should be adjusted so the total width is less than about 600
; pixels to avoid complications on the end user's browser screen.
Table Border=0 ; width, in pixels, of the HTML table BORDER
Cell Padding=0 ; CELL PADDING value for the HTML table
Cell Spacing=15 ; CELL SPACING value for the HTML table
Image Border=0 ; width, in pixels, of the BORDER around images
Max Images Per Line=5 ; number of images in one table row
; if Max Images Per Line is not specified or is 0, ThmIndxr defaults to 5 if
; the input directory contains 10 or more images, half the total if the
; number of images is between 5 and 10, or the number of images if it is
; less than 5.
Max Thumbnail Height=120 ; thumb. height if images are taller than wide
Max Thumbnail Width=100 ; thumbnail width if images are wider than tall
Show File Name=1 ; TRUE == show filename below thumb. in table
; no path information is included in the filename displayed with a thumbnail.
Show Long Names=0 ; FALSE == use DOS 8.3 filenames to display the
; filename, even if the directory contains a longer name. This is done
; to reduce table formatting errors caused by arbitrarily long names used
; for some images.
Show File Size=1 ; TRUE == show file size below thumb. in table
Show Dimensions=1 ; TRUE == show image dimensions below thumbnail
MailTo=
; specifies the email address in the &LT;ADDRESS&GT; footer of the output HTML page.
; if a MailTo entry is not specified, the &LT;ADDRESS&GT; footer consists only of the
; page title, and the "Last Modified" string indicating when ThmIndxr was
; run to create the page.
; it is the ThmIndxr user's responsibility to insure the string specified is a
; valid email address.
MailTo Name=
; specifies the link text, displayed in the &LT;ADDRESS&GT; footer of the output HTML
; page, that will be used to invoke the browser's mail facility.
; if a MailTo Name is not provided, "Webmaster" is used for the link text.
; any MailTo Name entry present is ignored if MailTo is not also specified.
Parent URL=
; specifies the return link URL for the generated HTML page; generally, this is
; the URL of the page that referred the browser to the thumbnail page.
; if a Parent URL entry is not specified, the only links in the generated HTML
; page will be to the images, the MailTo address (if specified), and to
; the ThmIndxr home page. the end user will have to use their browser's
; "Back" button to return to the previous page they had displayed.
; ThmIndxr's user is responsible for insuring the URL is valid.
Parent Page=
; specifies the link text displayed on the HTML page for the return link set by
; the Parent URL entry.
; if a Parent URL entry is present, but a Parent Page one is not specified, the
; Parent URL entry is also used as the link text, and will be displayed
; by the end user's browser when the generated HTML page is accessed.
; any Parent Page entry present is ignored if Parent URL is not also specified.
; color component entry values must either be -1 (unused), or in the range of
; 0 (off) to 255 (max. brightness), or a fatal error aborts the program.
; if any of the color components in a set is -1, the entire set is ignored.
Background Red=-1 ; red component for the HTML background color
Background Green=-1 ; green component for the HTML background color
Background Blue=-1 ; blue component for the HTML background color
Text Red=-1 ; red component for the HTML text color
Text Green=-1 ; green component for the HTML text color
Text Blue=-1 ; blue component for the HTML text color
Link Red=-1 ; red component for the HTML link color
Link Green=-1 ; green component for the HTML link color
Link Blue=-1 ; blue component for the HTML link color
Visited Link Red=-1 ; red component of the HTML visited link color
Visited Link Green=-1 ; green component of the HTML visited link color
Visited Link Blue=-1 ; blue component of the HTML visited link color
Description=
; specifies the META "description" text for the generated HTML page.
; if a Description entry is not specified, ThmIndxr provides a description of
; "Image index page for [pathspec]" where "[pathspec]" is the fully
; qualified location of the input directory.
; this is an "additive" entry - additional Description entries found in the
; command file add to the existing string, rather than replacing it.
; to override an existing Description string (i.e., a default string set in a
; Configuration File), use an entry with no string value, e.g.,
; Description=
; Description=some new descriptive text
Keywords=
; specifies the META "keywords" text for the generated HTML page.
; if a Keywords entry is not specified, ThmIndxr provides a keywords string of
; "thumbnail images, [titlestring]" where "[titlestring]" is the value
; defined by the Title String command entry.
; this is an "additive" entry - additional Keywords entries found in the
; command file add to the existing string, rather than replacing it.
; to override an existing Keywords string (i.e., a default string set in a
; Configuration File), use an entry with no string value, e.g.,
; Keywords=
; Keywords=some new keywords list
[add files]
;++
; entries in the [add files] section specify image files to include in output
; HTML page that ThmIndxr creates.
; entries in the [add files] section may use the wildcard characters normally
; available through the operating system.
; ThmIndxr reads and processes all of the image files that it finds and knows
; how to handle in the input directory, unless an [add files] section is
; found with a list of files. if an [add files] list is present, only
; the images in the list are processed.
; entries in the [add files] section must refer to image files in the current
; directory.
;--
[ignore files]
;++
; entries in the [ignore files] section specify image files to exclude from the
; output HTML page that ThmIndxr creates.
; entries in the [ignore files] section may use wildcard characters normally
; available through the operating system.
; if an [add files] list is present in addition to an [ignore files] list, the
; [ignore files] list overrides the [add files] entries.
; ThmIndxr reads and processes all of the image files that it finds and knows
; how to handle in the input directory, unless an [ignore files] section
; is found with a list of files. if an [ignore files] list is present,
; all of the images in the list are skipped during processing.
; entries in the [ignore files] section must refer to image files in the
; current directory.
;--